You will always be the one for me,
Luc
Willow gasped. Her heart, which had been beating so fast, finally cracked in two. The pain seeped into her bones.
‘What is it?’ Mia whispered.
‘He always loved me,’ Willow replied, her world shattered. ‘He always loved me, but he didn’t tell me. Why didn’t he tell me?’
And then she read the letter again.
‘Mia. I know exactly where he is.’
Chapter 34
Lucas
Lucas knew this was where he needed to be right now.
After the craziness of the storm and the swirling emotions that were threatening to overtake him, Lucas needed to be in his calm space, even if it was just for a few hours. After that, who knew? He’d filled his backpack with some clothes and had his wallet with him. He could ride out to another town or maybe get a train into the city. He wasn’t sure.
All he knew was that right now, he needed peace.
And he needed to be at the place where he used to be with Willow when times were good.
Here, at the Falls, he could simply sit and be still. He could listen to the gentle sound of nature and time passing. Apart from a few fallen trees, the area around here had not been too badly impacted by the storm, and amazingly, their battered little cabin was more or less still intact, sheltered by the huge fir trees that guarded it. Lucas huddled on the small chair inside, gazing out the broken window. His mind was restless like the Falls themselves, and his entire body ached with weariness.
He couldn’t forget Jake’s words in The Diner – he was planning on staying in Honey Springs and Lucas wasn’t thetype of man who came between people in a relationship. Nor could he ignore the way they had held each other. He knew he had to step aside. Before that though, he needed time to heal; perhaps he had never really done that before and that was part of the problem.
Greg used to tease to him, telling him he was crazy to have ever fallen for a girl like Willow. In truth, Lucas knew that he should have let go of hope years ago and he thought he had, but when Willow had rocked back into town, it was hard to ignore the feelings that crept quickly back. He had hoped that they would go away eventually, but as Willow got closer to him, everything intensified. And then that night, during the storm—
Lucas bit the inside of his cheek. He couldn’t bear to relive that all again. It was all he had been thinking about and it was starting to drive him crazy.
Years ago, Lucas had written Willow a letter. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, but in reality, it had been a desperate attempt to tell her how he was really feeling. Willow had been here with him in the cabin, telling him excitedly that Jake had asked her out, and Lucas knew in that moment that everything he loved and cherished was about to change. Willow didn’t know what Jake was really like. She had only really gotten to know him in high school and still thought of him as the shy little boy who once lived next to her when she lived with her mom.
Lucas knew differently. And Greg. And Rachel. They had all experienced the nasty side of Jake, who in high school had become the popular jock and targeted anyone who he viewed as beneath him. Lucas could kind of put up with the nasty slurs and occasional beatings, and he certainly hadn’t told Willow – not wanting her to think he was weak or needed her help in any way. But now, Willow was going to be Jake’s girlfriend and Lucas knew that would be the end of their friendship. Jake wouldn’t want his ‘girl’ to be hanging around with a loser like Lucas – he was far too controlling for that – and Lucas wasn’t even sure he wanted a friend who could date someone like that.
The letter was his last shot. It had been his mom’s idea, after she had seen how miserable he was.
‘Willow will want to know the truth; she’s a nice girl,’ she had said. ‘Give her all the information. Let her decide.’
Lucas planned to drop the letter at Martha’s house the next morning and then wait here at their cabin after school to see if Willow appeared. He walked over to the house with the letter clasped in his hand, only to find Willow in the doorway with Jake. He had come to pick her up for school.
Lucas realized in that moment that it was too late. Willow had already decided. And she was happy. What right did he have to make her choose?
So, he did the only other thing he could do; he allowed himself to drift back into the shadows. He avoided her. He ignored her calls. He tried to make himself forget about Willow Davis. He stuffed the letter in a bag alongside other memories of Willow and hid it under his bed. He couldn’t bear to destroy it, but he no longer wanted to see any of it.
And he watched as Willow and Jake’s relationship got stronger and stronger, and something inside him got weaker and weaker.
Lucas had to learn to rebuild himself, and with the help of his friends, he did.
Now, once more, he would have to start the process again.
He leaned back on the chair, closed his eyes and allowed his mind to drift, his hand subconsciously rubbing his mom’s bracelet. He hadn’t slept well in days.
His mind churned over thoughts of Willow, and then his mom and then The Diner. They all began to fuse together into a hazy mess.
Lucas loved Honey Springs, that brief time he left had been one of his unhappiest periods, but now everything was at risk.
